Defense
Defense is Tony’s downfall as an NBA player. When Davis went down this was where Bradley really struggled to keep up with the NBA talent.
When opponents drove to the rim Bradley didn’t move his feet with the right timing. This led to too many easy layups, dunks, and lobs at the rim for Jazz opponents. It also made Tony Bradley very susceptible to getting called for fouls.
Per 36 minutes Bradley is averaging a whopping SEVEN fouls, which is what limits his playing time. In the road game against the Charlotte Hornets in particular, the Jazz bench was unable to hold a lead or any kind of momentum whatsoever.
Quin Snyder chose to throw Tony Bradley in the game in a hope to give Rudy Gobert a little bit of rest. At that point things couldn’t get worse for the Jazz bench, or could they?
Bradley got whistled for three fouls in two minutes of play. Less than 30 seconds into the next quarter Bradley picked up his fourth foul. This is what dings Tony’s defensive grade most of all.
Terrific minutes tonight from Tony Bradley. Winning putback battles, doing a good job of rim protection. This is probably a good matchup for him... IND not that quick, but pretty strong
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) January 21, 2020
His rim protection stats are actually pretty good. According to NBA.com, he allows opponents to shoot 53 percent on him within six feet of the basket. On offense he shoots nearly 60 percent at the rim himself, making him a net positive player at the rim.
When Bradley gets forced to defend the roll man in the pick and roll, he allows the opponent to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 69 percent! When he defends an opponent posting up, Bradley is only in the 37th percentile.
When Bradley is on the court the Jazz defense surrenders 111.4 points per 100 posessions, which is good enough for 22nd in the league. Suffice it to say, as a defender Bradley doesn’t measure up to what the Jazz are trying to build this season.
Grade: D